platform regulation
Elon Musk gives Europe’s speech platform rules the thumbs up
While the world continues to wonder what ‘free speech absolutist‘ and gadfly billionaire Elon Musk might mean for the future of Twitter, the European Union has chalked up an early…
Apple’s App Store to face scrutiny in Germany as FCO opens ‘market power’ proceeding
Germany’s competition authority, the FCO, has completed its Big Tech GAFA “bingo” card by opening a proceeding against Apple. As with similar investigations already opened this year — into Amazon,…
TikTok called out for lack of ads transparency and for failing to police political payola
TikTok announced a ban on political advertising all the way back in 2019. So you’d be forgiven for thinking the ugly problem of democracy-denting political disinformation doesn’t apply inside its…
The UK’s plan to tackle Big Tech won’t be one-size fits all
The director of a new unit set up this month inside the UK’s competition watchdog — with a dedicated focus on tech giants’ impacts on digital markets — has been…
TikTok to open a ‘Transparency’ Center in Europe to take content and security questions
TikTok will open a center in Europe where outside experts will be shown information on how it approaches content moderation and recommendation, as well as platform security and user privacy,…
Facebook’s decision-review body to take ‘weeks’ longer over Trump ban call
Facebook’s self-styled and handpicked “Oversight Board” will make a decision on whether or not to overturn an indefinite suspension of the account of former president Donald Trump within “weeks”, it…
Court overturns Amsterdam’s three-district ban on Airbnb rentals
A ban by Amsterdam authorities on housing owners offering their properties for vacation rentals in three central districts of the popular tourist city has been overturned after a court ruled…
Apple’s App Store is now also under antitrust scrutiny in the UK
Apple is facing another antitrust investigation in Europe into how it operates the iOS App Store. The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced today that it’s opened an investigation…
TikTok calls in outside help with content moderation in Europe
TikTok is bringing in external experts in Europe in fields such as child safety, young people’s mental health and extremism to form a Safety Advisory Council to help it with…
After Facebook’s news flex, Australia passes bargaining code for platforms and publishers
A week after Facebook grabbed eyeballs globally by blocking news publishers and turning off news-sharing on its platform in Australia, the country’s parliament has approved legislation that makes it mandatory…
Uber loses gig workers rights challenge in UK Supreme Court
Uber has lost a long-running employment tribunal challenge in the U.K.’s Supreme Court — with the court dismissing the ride-hailing giant’s appeal and reaffirming earlier rulings that drivers who brought…
Facebook applies overly broad content block in flex against Australia’s planned news reuse law
Outrage fast-followed Facebook’s announcement yesterday that it was making good on its threat to block Australian users’ ability to share news on its platform. The tech giant’s intentionally broad-brush — call…
Uber could give gig workers a better deal but it’s lobbying EU to lower standards, says Fairwork
Uber has been accused of downplaying its influence over working conditions in the gig economy after the ride-hailing giant published a white paper earlier this week in which it lobbied…
Uber lobbies for ‘Prop 22’-style gig work standards in the EU
Uber is shooting its shot at EU lawmakers as they dial up scrutiny of working conditions on gig platforms to decide whether new rules are needed to improve the lot…
EU’s top privacy regulator urges ban on surveillance-based ad targeting
The European Union’s lead data protection supervisor has recommended that a ban on targeted advertising based on tracking internet users’ digital activity be included in a major reform of digital…
EU’s lead data supervisor for most of big tech is still using Lotus Notes
The lead data supervisor for a slew of tech giants in the European Union, including Apple, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, TikTok and Twitter, is still relying on Lotus Notes to manage…
TikTok has until Friday to respond to Italy’s order to block users it can’t age-verify after girl’s death
TikTok has until Friday to respond to an order by Italy’s data protection agency to block users whose age it cannot verify, TechCrunch has learned. The GPDP made an “immediate”…
EU chief warns over ‘unfiltered’ hate speech and calls for Biden to back rules for big tech
In a speech to the European Parliament today marking the inauguration of U.S. president Joe Biden, the president of the European Commission has called for Europe and the U.S. to…
WhatsApp-Facebook data-sharing transparency under review by EU DPAs after Ireland sends draft decision
A long-running investigation in the European Union focused on the transparency of data-sharing between Facebook and WhatsApp has taken the first major step toward a resolution. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission…
Europe seizes on social media’s purging of Trump to bang the drum for regulation
Big tech’s decision to pull the plug on president Donald Trump’s presence on their platforms, following his supporters’ attack on the US capital last week, has been seized on in…
YouTube reverses ban on UK’s TalkRadio for COVID-19 policy breaches
YouTube has reversed a controversial ban on the account of TalkRadio, a News Corp.-owned U.K. national radio station that covers news and current affairs. The station revealed yesterday its channel…
Understanding Europe’s big push to rewrite the digital rulebook
European Union lawmakers have set out the biggest update of digital regulations for around two decades — likening it to the introduction of traffic lights to highways to bring order to…
Europe lays out its plan to reboot digital rules and tame tech giants
European lawmakers have introduced two legislative proposals as part of a major policy reboot to update regional rules for digital business and rein in Big Tech. The Digital Services Act (DSA)…
Europe urged to block Google-Fitbit ahead of major digital policy overhaul
The European Commission must block the Google-Fitbit merger as a matter of democratic imperative, prominent academic and author Shoshana Zuboff has warned. The Harvard professor who wrote the defining book…
Europe to put forward rules for political ads transparency and beef up its disinformation code next year
New rules for online political advertising will be put forward by European Union lawmakers next year, with the aim of boosting transparency around sponsored political content. The Commission said today…
Europe will push to work with the US on tech governance, post-Trump
The European Union said today that it wants to work with US counterparts on a common approach to tech governance — including pushing to standardize rules for applications of technologies…
Facebook’s self-styled ‘oversight’ board selects first cases, most dealing with hate speech
A Facebook-funded body that the tech giant set up to distance itself from tricky and potentially reputation-damaging content moderation decisions has announced the first bundle of cases it will consider.…
Facebook loses final appeal in defamation takedown case, must remove same and similar hate posts globally
Austria’s Supreme Court has dismissed Facebook’s appeal in a long running speech takedown case — ruling it must remove references to defamatory comments made about a local politician worldwide for…
Europe urges e-commerce platforms to share data in fight against coronavirus scams
European lawmakers are pressing major e-commerce and media platforms to share more data with each other as a tool to fight rogue traders who are targeting consumers with coronavirus scams.…
Big tech’s ‘blackbox’ algorithms face regulatory oversight under EU plan
Major Internet platforms will be required to open up their algorithms to regulatory oversight under proposals European lawmakers are set to introduce next month. In a speech today Commission EVP…
